My SLDR Fitting with TaylorMade at The Belfry

[Fish]

Out of the blue I received an email from TaylorMade marketing (James) asking if I would be interested in a driver fitting at a Midlands location, the answer was obviously, yes :thup:

Over the next couple of weeks more information filtered through and the location was to be the Belfry along with 2 other people I knew, being Fundy & Rick.

The location is really close for me but for Rick he wanted to make the most of the day (Fundy couldn't come earlier) so we arranged to play the PGA first and then meet the others at the Academy.

Rick and I had a decent knock around the PGA, Rick had some new wedges and it became evident quite quickly that he wanted to test the sand wedge as many times as possible, of course it would have been rude not to try 1 also



After our round it was then straight to the Academy where we met Fundy who had already been fitted.

I went first and although I took my 9* driver and strong 3w with me as requested, it was straight to business with Phillip Dye the Belfry Pro with James taking down the stats whilst I was given various combinations of heads and shafts to try, some felt too light, some heavy and some felt so stiff they felt dead!

Although I was well warmed up after being around the PGA I did feel a little laboured and felt I was trying too hard at times leading to the odd hook, but I was really striking the ball well and eventually I started to hit some consistent drives, and more importantly, with much longer carry distances, but still we swapped and changed the heads and shafts.

Liam McDougall, the European Performance Lab & Centre Manager for TaylorMade was always hovering and chipping in with Phil and just as I thought I had found 'the one' after I boomed a Tour headed driver & shaft, which resembled a black Stealth totally out of sight, leading me to a Spartacus posture when Liam said "try this", and wow, my new true love was founded.

A 12 degree SLDR TP12 with the slider weight in the heel accompanied with a Matrix 7m3 Black Tie Stiff shaft cut down to 43.5" and suddenly my stats changed dramatically from over 3500 spin to 3000 (still work to do), my launch angle was perfect at 17 degree's from a previous 10.4 and I increased my carry by no less than 24yds, which over the last 2 weeks of using it more has increased due to a greater degree of confidence, as such, I'm finding myself not only down the fairways far longer than ever before, which makes a huge difference with club selection for those pesky 2nd shots to the green, but, I'm finding the actual fairways far more easier :clap:



I have used my new SLDR twice now in competition format and have progressed to the quarter finals of the Lewis Cup at my new club and shot comfortably under handicap in a Invitation Day at my old club at the weekend, I put both these performances comfortably down to the SLDR allowing me to get off the tee straighter & longer and without feeling I am forcing my swing.

Both Phillip & Liam displayed so much knowledge, experience and patience and matched me perfectly to my new TaylorMade SLDR driver, and along with James, I thank them all unreservedly.

 

[fundy]

Like Fish (great write up!) I was also fortunate enough to get the same invite up to the Belfry.

First thing upon arriving at the Belfry was how apparent it is as to how much money has been spent on the place since it changed hands! Clearly it needed a lot of it but the place was so much better than I remembered it as and I was quite amazed as to how busy it was (especially at 3.95 for a coffee lol).

Having had a coffee I headed to the Fitting centre and hit some balls to warm up. With the other 2 still chopping it round the course I got the suite and fitters to myself

Ive been driver less for best part of a year and was a bit sceptical as to what TM would be able to offer me (Ive never been a huge TM fan though theyve now converted me with the SLDR). The mini had just been launched and I assumed that hopefully they would be able to fit me for one of those and that it would give me a better option than the current 3deep. Within minutes of hitting balls with the 3Deep, Liam gave me the 460cc SLDR to try. First impression was that the head was massive and on the ugly side, but this soon got ignored after I had hit a few.

I didnt know what I was hitting at any stage in terms of loft or shaft or settings, was just happy to let Liam fit me and ascertain the best solution for me. He was happy after about half an hour that he had the best spec for me and couldnt improve upon it. He explained his main approach for me was to take the left side of the golf course out of play and this was achieved by having the weight as far as possible into the toe (he also added that I hit slightly out opf the toe and by moving the weight it slightly moves the sweetspot that was too so should help on that front as well).

Turned out the spec was a 12 degree head (set at 11.5 degrees), the weight fully in the toe and a Matrix 6M3 Black Tie X flex shaft (same as a certain US Open champ on all accounts!). Clubhead speed was just above 110mph, angle of attack was 3 degrees up, launch angle was at 13 degrees and spin was about 2200.

Having got this set up right I then asked to try the pro head (430cc) and also the Mini as thought they were both better looking at address. The pro despite having similar settings wanted to go left constantly and wasnt right for me at all and despite the mini looking and feeling great, again it was a "hook machine" in my hands. Sadly the mini doesnt actually have the moveable weight (between toe and heel), if it had then I wouldve been first in the queue as although it was 15 yards or so shorter than the SLDR it just felt "right" at address (especially for someone whos not been using a driver for a while!)

The driver has only just seen the course and initial impression is cautiously optimistic. I still only see a few holes on our course as needing a driver but the plan is for this to change over the next few weeks as the confidence builds! Got to be better than hitting 3 iron everywhere.

A great experience and many thanks to both TM and the Belfry for the experience.

With my session now done I got to put my feet up and watch Fish and Rick be fitted which was entertaining in itself. We had been asked to bring our current driver or alternative, obviously Rick turned up with half a pro shops worth of alternatives to answer this!!!

Once they were done a burger and a pint on the terrace with some great scenery before we went our separate ways and headed home, always good to catch up with forumites in such relaxed surroundings

 

[pbrown7582]

Great write ups thanks for sharing. :thup:

 

[hamshanker]

Superb write up fellas and good to hear that you all had a great day with some great results by the sounds of it..

Been thinking and reading about the mini sldr for couple weeks and now this post has made my mind up to go n try them out:thup:

 

[williamalex1]

I just recieved a email from Affordablegolf offering a TaylorMade free fitting of their latest models in Glasgow next week , so thats it settled you guys have convinced me to give up my usual Friday game and try it out, :cheers:.

 

[rickg]

Fish and Fundy have already done a great job of reviewing the day, so not much more to add.

It was fascinating watching them fit Fish with the results improving each time until finally they got that Eureka moment....Fish's face was a picture.

When it was my turn, I'd brought my Titleist 905 and my ORKA GS5 to compare against.
I started with the Titleist and was hitting a strong draw initially but the figures were reasonable and the fitters were happy with how I was hitting it.

Then I hit a few with the ORKA......I hadn't been using the ORKA on the course for a while as I'd found the lower ball flight with the Titleist beneficial. So when I saw the figures on the monitor with it I was very surprised to see much better figures than the Titleist.

It was around 10-15 yards longer........I could see the fitters also looked slightly worried in a "how are we going to beat that" kind of way.... they added that whoever had fit me for it had done a great job as I was hitting it nearly as far as possible given my swing speed and all the other stats. This was really pleasing to hear and testament to Alex at ORKA who had done the fitting. It did make me feel bad that I had give up on it in favour of the Titileist which in hindsight was the wrong decision.

Anyhow, we started with the SLDR and early feedback was excellent... I was hitting it very well, albeit still with a little too much draw.
A few tweaks to the sliding weight (set all the way to max fade) and a different shaft and the results were getting better each time.

I then hit one ball which felt pretty good....the fitter looked at the stats then shook my hands with the words...."we're done".....he showed me the ipad stats and I'd hit my best set of figures with 273 yards total. I was very happy and knew I'd found my club.

I was fitted for the upgraded Matrix Black Tie 6M3 in stiff..... I haven't got a particularly fast swing speed (recorded at around 101-104mph during the test) but this shaft is definitely right for me.

The final shaft and head combination (12* set at 11.75*) saw my spin come down from over 3000 to 1965 rpm.....it felt really stable and my dispersion was very good.
Carry was up from 225 to 240 and total distance from 256 to 273.

Results out on the course have been very impressive with me hitting my longest drives ever.....recorded a 1 over gross round and 2 x 5 over gross in the last week. This driver has definitely helped with those scores.

I'm getting the most pleasing results into a wind where previously I would tee it down a bit and restrict the follow through to get a penetrating flight and prevent ballooning, but with the SLDR I can tee it up as high as I like and it's not ballooned once.

Distances are very impressive and I've GPS measured a 285 and a 289 (slight wind assistance) although usual results are more 250-265 which I'm very happy with as I'm now outdriving playing partners that were longer than me.
I'm also hitting more fairways which is a huge bonus at our place with the rough very penal.

Overall I couldn't be happier. The fitting staff at the Belfry and TM really know their stuff and I'd like to thank them for what they have done for my driving.
Naturally I'd also like to thank Jimbob for the opportunity. He's loving his new job and is a top bloke to boot, (I've even forgiven him for beating me by 1 shot at the KOK at Hillside)

 

[Alex1975]

Thanks guys, these are big results! I am not a TM guy but I really am going to have to look at one of these. It seems pretty clear to me that this is a driver that needs to be properly fitted.

Enjoy the new toys. I am looking forward to a play with Fundys this week some time.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Very interesting that these 3 fittings all resulted in Black Tie shafts which are fairly expensive shafts I believe.
Was it a case of the low launch, low spin shaft being required to counter the 'loft up' design of the head or just coincidence that this shaft was best fit for all 3 of you?
I' m quite interested in the thinking behind this however I play the majority of my golf on a windy links and want the ball on as low a trajectory that I can get away with.
I did try this club a while ago at a range with a stock shaft in and it looked and felt horrible plus I was hitting it both ways. Not bothered about using an ugly club as long as it gets the job done but keep thinking these clubs for the majority of people are going need a shaft that has a hefty up charge with it.

 

[fundy]

Very interesting that these 3 fittings all resulted in Black Tie shafts which are fairly expensive shafts I believe.
Was it a case of the low launch, low spin shaft being required to counter the 'loft up' design of the head or just coincidence that this shaft was best fit for all 3 of you?
I' m quite interested in the thinking behind this however I play the majority of my golf on a windy links and want the ball on as low a trajectory that I can get away with.
I did try this club a while ago at a range with a stock shaft in and it looked and felt horrible plus I was hitting it both ways. Not bothered about using an ugly club as long as it gets the job done but keep thinking these clubs for the majority of people are going need a shaft that has a hefty up charge with it.

From a bit of a cynics view of their stock shafts this is just a much better all round shaft imo. As I say I didnt know what I was hitting throughout the process but was more than happy I had the best "combination" at the finish

As for low trajectory its a bit more different than that for me and it seems the majority using SLDRs the ball is actually launching higher but on a flatter trajectory, meaning the top of the flight is slightly lower and the flight is more penetrating (my initial view was that visually it seemed much higher than Im used to but thats more of the launch than the max height)

As for hitting it both ways, for me this is where the fitting was crucial. I hit it hard right to left and my fitting worked to eliminate the left hand side of the course, far more manageable if you are only missing one side!

 

[la_lucha]

On the back of these write ups I'm thinking of getting myself booked in for a fitting up at the Belfry. One query I would have though is that I'm not great at driving with real inconsistency. Would it be worth me getting fitted or getting lessons?

 

[Fish]

On the back of these write ups I'm thinking of getting myself booked in for a fitting up at the Belfry. One query I would have though is that I'm not great at driving with real inconsistency. Would it be worth me getting fitted or getting lessons?

Why not a bit of both, Philip is the Belfry Pro who assisted in fitting me, why not make an appointment with him and combine the 2, its only up the road and he'd then match the right SLDR & shaft set-up for what he wants you to work on!

 

[la_lucha]

Cheers Fishy I'll get in touch with them.

 

[hovis]

Cheers Fishy I'll get in touch with them.

My driver consistency is all over the gaff. I spin the ball at 3800 with my anser so when that spin turns into side spin i am royaly shafted. With the sldr my spin in 2300 so when thats turns into side spin it isnt as damaging.
Also if you tell me your fitting day i might be able to persuade phil to let you out on the course with the club. I can sign you on the pga for 25

 

[la_lucha]

My driver consistency is all over the gaff. I spin the ball at 3800 with my anser so when that spin turns into side spin i am royaly shafted. With the sldr my spin in 2300 so when thats turns into side spin it isnt as damaging.
Also if you tell me your fitting day i might be able to persuade phil to let you out on the course with the club. I can sign you on the pga for 25

Hovis you're a diamond. I'm away next week but will look to get it booked up for sometime next month.

 

[Alex1975]

Very interesting that these 3 fittings all resulted in Black Tie shafts which are fairly expensive shafts I believe.
Was it a case of the low launch, low spin shaft being required to counter the 'loft up' design of the head or just coincidence that this shaft was best fit for all 3 of you?
I' m quite interested in the thinking behind this however I play the majority of my golf on a windy links and want the ball on as low a trajectory that I can get away with.
I did try this club a while ago at a range with a stock shaft in and it looked and felt horrible plus I was hitting it both ways. Not bothered about using an ugly club as long as it gets the job done but keep thinking these clubs for the majority of people are going need a shaft that has a hefty up charge with it.

It is said that with the lower spin of the SLDR it is awesome in the wind. It does not try and balloon up.

 

[Deleted member 3432]

It is said that with the lower spin of the SLDR it is awesome in the wind. It does not try and balloon up.

Might be worth trying in that spec if that is the case,

 

[rickg]

It is said that with the lower spin of the SLDR it is awesome in the wind. It does not try and balloon up.

I can vouch for that.......not one single ballooned shot and I've played into some pretty stiff winds with this......it's a revelation!!

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I can vouch for that.......not one single ballooned shot and I've played into some pretty stiff winds with this......it's a revelation!!

Most certainly have noticed that as well - especially this weekend .

 

[Fish]

Another great afternoon off the tee at a new course for my B-team yesterday, only cocked up 2 drives which I tried to muller but they still didn't get me into trouble, I'm hitting this SLDR so well now I'm having to be careful how far I hit it as I'm finding trouble (hazards) which I've never had to contemplate before. I've got a gap forming though at the top of my bag as I'm starting to hit this SLDR better all the time, my strong 3w is great off the fairway for long 2nd shots and long par 3's but then I drop to a 7w and then my 4i, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to carry the 4w again and drop the 4i so I go Driver, 3w+ (13*), 4w (17*), 7w (21*) then 5i

 

[pbrown7582]

Another great afternoon off the tee at a new course for my B-team yesterday, only cocked up 2 drives which I tried to muller but they still didn't get me into trouble, I'm hitting this SLDR so well now I'm having to be careful how far I hit it as I'm finding trouble (hazards) which I've never had to contemplate before. I've got a gap forming though at the top of my bag as I'm starting to hit this SLDR better all the time, my strong 3w is great off the fairway for long 2nd shots and long par 3's but then I drop to a 7w and then my 4i, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to carry the 4w again and drop the 4i so I go Driver, 3w+ (13*), 4w (17*), 7w (21*) then 5i

Good to here the sdlr is working well.

How about dropping the 3W for the 4W?